Fire

1. Flames and heat from burning matter.

2. One of the five phases; the phase that has the characteristics associated with fire. Fire is the flaming upward, uniting the concepts of heat and upward movement. The fire phase is associated with summer (season), growth (life-cycle stage), south (position), red (color), the heart (viscus), small intestine (bowel), tongue (orifice/sprout), vessels (body constituent), and joy (mind).

3. In physiology, a transmutation of yáng qì explained as a vital force, e.g., sovereign fire, ministerial fire, and lesser fire.

4. One of the six qì; hot weather. See heat.

5. One of the six excesses, which when invading the body, can causes the following signs:

1. Pronounced generalized or local signs of heat, such as high fever, aversion to heat, desire for coolness, flushed complexion, reddening of the eyes, reddish urine, red tongue, yellow fur, rapid pulse, or, in sore patterns, redness, heat, pain, and swelling.
2. Thick, sticky excreta, such as thick snivel (nasal mucus), thick yellow phlegm, sour watery vomitus, murky urine, blood and pus in the stool, acute diarrhea, or foul-smelling stools, often with a burning sensation on discharge. For this reason, Plain Questions (素问 sù wèn) states, Turbid water is associated with heat, and all sour retching and vomiting, fulminant downpour, and lower body distress are ascribed to heat.
3. Damage to the fluids characterized by a dry tongue with little liquid, thirst with desire for cold fluids, and dry hard stool.
4. Bleeding, and maculopapular eruptions that occur when the fire evil scorches the blood and causes frenetic blood movement.
5. Disturbances of the spirit and vision as Plain Questions (素问 sù wèn) states, All heat with visual distortion is ascribed to fire, and excessive agitation and mania are associated with fire.

6. A pathological state that is either caused by fire as one of the six excesses, and classified as heat among the eight principles, or any similar pathological state arising from the transformation of other evils, from the transformation of yáng qì, or from yīn vacuity.

1. The transformation of yáng qì due to affect damage (emotional disturbance) or the transformation of exterior evils as they enter the interior causes repletion fire. This condition is characterized by high fever, headache, red eyes, bitter taste in the mouth, dry mouth, thirst with desire for cold drinks, vexation and agitation, rib-side pain, abdominal pain that refuses pressure, constipation, red tongue with dry yellow fur and sometimes prickles, and a rapid replete pulse. In severe cases, there is blood ejection or spontaneous external bleeding, or maculopapular eruptions. The most common repletion fire patterns are gastrointestinal repletion fire or liver-gallbladder repletion fire.
2. Depletion of yīn humor and yīn-yang imbalance in the organs causes vacuity fire, which is characterized by mild heat signs, tidal reddening of the face, vexing heat in the five hearts, steaming bone taxation heat [effusion], vexation and insomnia, night sweating, short voidings of reddish urine, dry mouth and throat, red tongue with scant fur, or a bare red tongue without fur, and a forceless rapid fine pulse.

Compare heat.